Cheryl Sainsbury was travelling to Lanzarote with her friends when the captain said they would need to land due to reports of a ‘device’ on board – and fighter jets were deployed
A passenger who was on a TUI plane when fighter jets were scrambled after a threatening note was discovered in the bathroom has now shared further details of the incident.
Cheryl Sainsbury and her three friends Leanne Thomas, Cherie Gurner and Tara Pumford were travelling from Cardiff to Lanzarote when, as the plane was flying over Portugal, the captain said they would need to land as soon as possible because there was reports of a “device” on board. The 43-year-old passenger said: “We were sort of looking at each other thinking ‘what’s he on about?’ We were all scared but there was no sense of panic as such on board. Everybody seemed to come together and just looked out for each other. We all wanted to make sure everyone was ok.”
READ MORE: TUI flight erupts in panic after ‘bomb threat note’ discovered in toilet
Cheryl said the cabin crew remained calm and “brilliant” with all the passengers – and people were asked to remain seated while the crew looked under the seats and in the overhead lockers to check that all the luggage was accounted for. “I think they were looking for a black rucksack,” Cheryl said.
While onboard and waiting for news about what would happen next, the passengers tried to message loved ones to tell them what was happening to them, the holidaymaker told Wales Online. Shortly after, the captain made a new announcement, saying that a risk assessment had been carried out and it was concluded that the threat was low, so the flight would no longer be need to land earlier in Portugal.
However, for the passengers and crews’ safety, they were escorted the rest of the way by two Portuguese fighter jets before they safely landed at the airport in Arrecife, Lanzarote. Cheryl said: “Once we landed on the ground, it was the biggest celebration and sense of relief.
“We were taken to a remote part of the airport and there were police and fire engines surrounding the plane. We had to get off one-by-one.” Once on the ground, passengers had to wait for the emergency services on the ground to check through all the luggage before they were allowed to leave.
“We had to stand on the tarmac with all the luggage but we weren’t allowed to touch of any of it,” Cheryl explained. “They brought sniffer dogs and the bomb squad so we just had to stand their and watch before they let us on the bus.
“We got taken to some form of compound where there were no refreshments and just one toilet. We just had to wait their until they had approval from the police to let us go to get back to the normal part of the airport where we could go through immigration and collect our cases.”
Cheryl and her friends have since been enjoying Lanzarote and are due to fly back home on Sunday. Cheryl said: “It was such a weird experience especially as I’m a quite anxious flyer so I don’t know how we did it. Even though we were all scared, we just stuck together and tried to keep it calm.”
Controllers writing on one X account said: “The plane has been guided with the presence of firefighters to a siding where the passengers have had to identify their luggage. Landing and takeoff operations have been temporarily interrupted, which has caused some delays.”
A spokesperson for the Portuguese Air Force said in a statement that two F-16M jets on permanent alert were deployed from Air Base number 5 in Monte Real to intercept and escort the plane. Fighter pilots were required to closely monitor the situation as the TUI jet travelled through Portuguese airspace before seeing the aircraft to its landing point in Lanzarote.
The military said: “With the F-16Ms already monitoring the situation to ensure the safety and good management of national airspace, the crew of the civilian aircraft decided to continue the flight to the destination airport, outside national territory. Upon leaving the national flight information region, responsibility passed to Spain, with the Portuguese F-16Ms carrying out the handover of the mission and subsequent return to Monte Real.”
Eventually, no explosive device was found onboard and authorities have launched an investigation to determine who wrote the letter found in the bathroom. A spokesperson for Cardiff Airport said: “We are aware of an incident involving flight TOM6422 from Cardiff to Lanzarote on 19/06/25. The safety of our passengers is our number one priority. No concerns or suspicious activity were raised prior to departure.”